Being at Peace

One day you see sunshine and rainbows, the next day you see storm clouds and hailstones. At least this is the life James and I are walking through right now. I won't go into all the details at this point, but surfice it to say, we are walking through a storm right now. A big, scary storm with a very unknown outcome...

But even in the midst of the unknown outcome, I have peace, because I know whom I serve and I know HE loves me and will take care of me. In THIS moment I have peace. Sure, in the last few hours I've shed a lot of tears. But in THIS moment I have peace. And it is only in THIS moment that I need peace. My Abba Father will meet me in the next moments and give me the peace I need just for THAT moment too.

The Bible says: Do not worry about tomorrow, each day has enough trouble of its own. I never really got this verse until today. I am a planner and I like to be in control. So worrying about tomorrow is one of my main job descriptions!!! If I don't worry about tomorrow, who will??? But God is only giving me peace for THIS moment. Not for tomorrow. Tomorrow will receive its own portion of peace from the Lord.

So when I let my mind wander through the "what ifs", I am not following the Lord's commands at all. I am sinning. The "what ifs" get me no where but down a road fraught with fear over the tomorrows, that I honestly have absolutely NO control over. The Lord never intends for us to have fear for tomorrow (I have not given you a spirit of fear!!). That's why He instructs us to NOT worry about tomorrow. He's handling it!

Interesting the preceding part of that verse - God IS taking care of ALL of it. Not just a bit or a portion or just the really big stuff. He is our Abba Father, our Daddy, and He loves me and loves you SO much that HE is taking care of the Big stuff and the Little things too - ALL of it!!!!!!

Matthew 6:25 - 34
25"Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes? 26Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? 27Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life[a]?
28"And why do you worry about clothes? See how the lilies of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. 29Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. 30If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? 31So do not worry, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?' 32For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. 33But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. 34Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.

So I am so very thankful for the peace of THIS moment. Knowing that my Abba Father will give me the peace I need for the next moment and the moment after that. And with that peace I look expectantly for the very good gifts my Daddy is preparing for us!!!

Prayers and Provisions

Jehovah Jireh....The Lord who Provides....

This year has been a time of stepping out in obedience and faith for my family. Definitely NOT my strong suit! I very much like being in control of EVERYTHING!!! Our lives have been crazy chaotic and busy this year. Caroline has been at a private Christian school, Jack at a public charter school and me at a public Title 1 school. Three completely different school schedules, different vacation days, 1 1/2 hours in the car getting everyone where they need to go each day, 35 miles round trip between schools - 2 times a day. Absolute Craziness!!! Add on top of that the exhaustion that comes from working in an inner-city Title 1 school and the lack of patience I was beginning to experience with my own children at the end of each day and it came as no shock that a change was needed. James and I began to pray and seek the Lord and see what changes we should make. We decided that I would apply to each of the children's schools to see if I could get a teaching position at either of them. The lack of teaching positions available caused us to be unsure of what to expect. Jack's school didn't have any elementary openings this year for new teachers and Caroline's school was only going to have one. Got my application into both and had interviews with both. Amazingly, I was offered the one position that was available at Caroline's school - teaching the grade level that I wanted to teach. The only set-back was that I was going to have a $20,000 pay cut to take the job. Nothing like seeing what you want and then feeling like you're being sucker-punched by the lack of money. We prayed about it again and really felt like the Lord was working everything out for me to take it. Just didn't know how the funding was going to be there.

At this same time, our pastor had challenged our church to be faithful to tithe, make a budget and stick to the budget for 120 days. He talked with us about the Bible being clear that we are to tithe 10% of our salary, but that the Lord promises to provide for us. We took the challenge. I can't tell you how many times I didn't want to write the tithe check. How many times we would look at the balance sheet and know what bills had to be paid, but not where the money would come from. And at times we were aboslutely desperate and struggled greatly. But we continued to faithfully tithe.

Fast forward about a month from taking the new teaching job. James is told that he is being considered for a new position at the hospital that will include a big pay increase for him, doing financial analyst work that he loves to do. Seemed far too good to be true. We'd been down this road before and weren't sure it was going to really pan out. But he was told last week that he was going to be offered the job. And although the pay increase was good it is not as much as we had hoped. We had gotten it in our minds that the pay increase would totally make up my pay difference from my leaving my public school job. But that isn't how it worked out...exactly....

Jehovah Jireh...The Lord provides.... This term is used in the Old Testament when Abraham is given the ram to sacrifice instead of Isaac. The Lord provided for Abraham when Abraham was faithful. I think the faithful, obedient part is the kicker....

So as James and I sat down to do a projected budget for the next school year, something truly amazing happened..the Lord has worked it all out. I found out that I am being given two pay checks this August - one from each school. One of which will pay off most of the kid's discounted tuition for this upcoming school year. James' pay increase is in no way, shape or form going to make up my $20,000 pay cut... BUT, the Lord has provided an extra $400 A MONTH to our take-home pay. I don't know how it is possible, but HE has increased our money....He is Jehovah Jireh...The Lord who Provides!!!!

Are you Embracing Change or just Facing it????

Change is in the air....It seems like so many friends are experiencing life-changing events. Some good, some not so good. But change is happening.

With the changes come many different reactions to the change. Our attitudes determine so much of how the change will effect us. I wonder as we experience change are we planting our feet, setting our body and facing the change as one would as they hold on tight in the midst of a wind storm or are we opening our arms up and embracing the change. We choose the attitude that we will have towards the change and that makes all the difference.

Facing the change is fighting against it. Fear, negativity and frustration set in. The "whys" rear their ugly head. Why can't things stay the way they were? Why do I have to change jobs? Why do we have to move? Why do I have to go through this? We're bracing ourselves for a mighty storm and we aren't the least bit happy about it. And as we fight against the change, we get hurt!


Embracing the change is completely different. With the embracing comes excitement. Life is an adventure and we don't know what is around the next bend, but we do know God is in the change. We're on the roller coaster of life, sitting up front as the car makes its assent with our arms raised high, squealing all the way. Sure our stomach flips for a moment and our breath occasionally leaves us, but we are excited to see what is around the next bend.

As we face change, be it good, bad or indifferent, we will face many emotions and that's fine. Being sad, frustrated or even a little scared in the moment the change is occurring is normal. But maintaining an attitude that is sad, frustrated and fearful acts like a layer of icy water that freezes us to the core causing us irreparable damage that keeps us from being able to move forward at all.

Change WILL happen in our lives. As Heraclitus said, "The only thing constant in life is change." How we handle the change and the attitude we adopt in the midst of it all determines where we go from there.

Purposing to Embrace change and not just face it!!!!!

Life is Change, Growth is optional....Choose wisely....Karen Clark

Making Snow Cone Syrup!!!

I love summer and all the fun that it contains. Relaxing in the sun, swimming at the pool and enjoying some yummy snow cones. What doesn't scream summer like shaved ice with sweetened fruit-flavored syrup. Here is a super-easy and yummy way to make your own snow-cone syrup.

Snow Cone Syrup
2 cups sugar
3/4 cup water
1 pkg. of unsweetened fruit drink mix such as: Kool-Aid

Heat the water and sugar to a boil or mix together and microwave for about 3 1/2 minutes. Stir in package of Kool-aid, stir and pour into serving containers. Refrigerate until ready to use. I normally make my syrups a day ahead of time so they can be really cold when we make the snow cones.

I put the syrup in squeeze bottles I got from a local party store ($1.00 a piece). From left to right we are serving: Blueberry Lemonade, Watermelon Kiwi, Strawberry and Lemon-Lime.

We're renting a large-sized snow cone maker this week for Jack's end-of-the-season baseball party and my class's end-of-the-year party. Check around for a good deal. We're getting the snow cone maker for 3 days for $50. Caroline's even talking about setting up a Snow Cone Stand in between the two events to make a little money. As much as my kids enjoy making (and EATING) these, I think we might have to invest in our own snow-cone maker soon! Too much fun to not make on a regular basis! Have fun!!!

Adventures of a Coupon Newbie

Wanting and needing to save money, I decided to join the coupon bandwagon and really work hard at saving money at the grocery store. Using several websites like southernsavers.com and acoupondiva.com, I printed coupons, clipped coupons and plotted and planned my trip. Hitting up two local grocery stores I went in and came out pleased and motivated to keep going. It was definitely worth the time and effort. I spent about an hour this morning preparing for the trip and about an hour at the two stores (luckily they are across the street from each other, so little travel time was involved. All told I bought over $185 worth of groceries, but only spent $85. So I figured I saved about $50 an hour for my efforts!!!!

Shopping trip at Publix - $45 worth of groceries for only $15!!!!

Some of my best individual buys:
3 boxes of name-brand cereal for $2.10 total (that is 70 cents a box)
2 boxes of Go-Gurts (a special treat in my house because I will rarely spend the money on them) - 90 cents total
2 boxes of hair color - Normally $9 a box. I got each for $1.

Throw in a free 1/2 gallon of orange juice, 2 jars of Paul Newman spaghetti sauce for $1 each and $27 worth of meat for only $12 and it was a pretty good trip!

I am super new at all of this stuff. If you have any suggestions or ideas, I'd love to hear them!!! Off to go buy my Sunday papers!!!

What are you reaching for????

I recently saw the musical Mary Poppins at the Fox Theatre here in Atlanta. It was an outstanding production that my family and I enjoyed very much. The chorus of one of the songs struck me as interesting and I have been mulling it over for a few days.

"If you reach for the stars, all you'll get are the stars.....if you reach for the heavens, you get the stars thrown in." — Mary Poppins

What an interesting thought. Back in the day, good ol' Casey Kasem would end every Top 40 program with, "Keep your feet on the ground and keep reaching for the stars." In fact, I have heard for years to "reach for the stars". But here was Mary Poppins almost saying that reaching for the stars wasn't good enough.

As I began to think about that line an interesting thought took form. Reaching for the stars is synonymous with going after our dreams. The sky's the limit sort of thing. And I guess that is all well and good. But is it the best? Maybe not. The stars, I can see. I can study them, contemplate them, even sort of understand them. They are finite. My mind can 'get it'.

But going after Heaven??? I certainly don't have a great grasp on what Heaven will be like. In my limited understanding I totally can imagine it, read scripture on it, etc. But do I totally "get it"? Not really. It is infinite. It is more than my mind can conceptualize or understand.

God puts dreams and desires into each one of us, but I think His desire is to do even MORE than what we can imagine or conceptualize. More than the stars. I have always wanted to be a teacher, and I went after that dream. I reached for the stars and lo and behold, I became a teacher. But what if being a teacher is just the beginning.? What if God wants to take my teaching to a level that I can't begin to understand or dream of? Who knows?

The Bible states in 1 Corinthians 2:9 - "No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love him". Wow!!!! We can't even begin to imagine what God has in store for us! How exciting is that!!! So I think I will follow Mary Poppins advice and reach for the Heavens...open myself up to allowing the Lord to use me, teach me and take me places I haven't ever even thought of. Maybe the Lord will even see fit to throw in a few stars for good measure!!!

Puzzle Pieces

Have you ever felt like your life is a huge puzzle and it is only as the pieces slowly fit together that you begin to see the plan that God has for your life? When you go through those absolutely horrible times and you can't for the life of you figure out or understand the whys??

Several years ago when I was a young new teacher, I had a horrible teaching experience. Such a horrible experience that it was enough to make me leave the profession and completely cause me to go into one of the few times I have ever experienced any type of depression. I couldn't understand how God could cause me to go through that. He had so DEFINITELY called me to be a teacher. Not having gone to college or having a degree in teaching originally, He made a clear-cut way for me to become a teacher. And I loved it...but then I left it. No amount of reason could cause me to understand why things would become so difficult that I would leave that which I loved to do. Within a month of leaving teaching, I was hired to do recruiting for a local college. Another gal started on the same day as me. We worked together for only three weeks. I enjoyed the job, she did not. But a fast friendship was formed. I worked at that job for almost five years, leaving only to move and get married. Seven years after having left my teaching job for a heartbreaking reason, all the pieces of the puzzle fell into place. The friend I had met and worked with for only a few short weeks, was then an HR Director for a local sales firm. She was looking for someone to hire to work part time, from home, doing marketing research. The perfect job for this new mom who didn't want to put her infant daughter in daycare. There was no way I could have understood at the time why I had to walk through something so painful as leaving a career I loved. But God knew. God knew that seven years later I would be a new mom who wanted to stay home and take care of her baby but still needed to earn some money. He knew.

In Romans 8:28 states that God works all things together for good for those who are called according to His good purpose. What an awesome promise! I remember a time about 13 years ago when my apartment was broken into a couple of times. The only things the thieves got were an old computer and printer. Being a single gal, it was terrifying to have had my home broken into and many tears of frustration and fear were shed. Insurance covered the loss and I was able to get a new computer. And this one actually had a dial-up modem! Shocking I know...Twas the way of the world 13 years ago! AOL was in its hey-day!!! Little did I know, that out of that break-in and heart break, the pieces of another puzzle would soon come together as I met my husband through that computer (and this was LONNGGG before Match.com and the like). God knew how to bring us together and He used that break-in for MY good. Even though at the time I absolutely could not see how He could.

What are you dealing with? What heartbreaks are you experiencing that you can't even begin to imagine being turned around for His glory and your benefit?? He will work for us, on our behalf. He will fight for us. He loves us. He is our Daddy!!! And even though you might not be able to see how or why or when it will work out....do know that He promises, not some things, not most things but HE works ALL things together for GOOD!!!!! What an awesome promise! Stand on it, claim it, and watch Him put the pieces of your puzzle together!!!!

Life's motto

One of my new all-time favorite quotes is: "Be the kind of woman that when your feet hit the floor, the devil says, "Oh Crap, She's UP!" (I wish I knew who originally said it because I would love to give them credit.) This has become a motto of sorts for me, a statement, a goal that describes how I want my life to be. I sure do have a ways to go to get there, but it is what I hope my life will become. As I have thought about this statement, I wonder what kind of woman would it take to be the kind that would cause the devil to exclaim, "Oh No! SHE'S up!!!"

Several things come to mind~ first and foremost a woman who is poised towards the Lord. Spends time with the Lord, doing battle on her knees. Wielding the Sword like some well-trained Samurai warrior. Some one who knows when to fight and knows when to open her hand to the Lord and release that which is most precious. Yeah...I want to be like that.

The kind of woman who would be of concern to the devil is one who is selfless. Not so worried and preoccupied with herself, telling her story, talking about her adventures...but seeking out others, remembering to ask about some one's ailing grandmother or the color of paint they just picked out for their living room. A woman who "considers others as more important than themselves". The kind of woman who breathes life and love to all those they come in contact with. I want to be like that too!

A woman with a ready smile, a positive outlook, joy in her heart. One who is welcoming of others...those they have things in common with and those they don't. The one who when you talk to her makes you feel like you are a most important and special person. The one who is truly "Jesus with skin on". Yeah...that one I definitely want to be like.

I don't think it is necessarily the one who is concerned about having the cleanest or biggest house, the cutest clothes or latest hairstyle. I don't think it is the one who is concerned about themselves and their needs first. I don't think it is the one with the negative words or miserable attitude. Those I don't think the devil is too concerned about.

It is the she who brings life and joy, enthusiasm and excitement, love, mercy and grace to those who are so loved and adored by our Father, that the devil is most concerned about. That is the kind of woman I want to be....

Sit Down and Shut-Up!!!!

How many times as a mom (and to be really honest...as a teacher) have I wanted to just say "Sit down and shut-up!" Of course I don't say that, but I have thought it. You know when..after I have been asked for the bigillionth time..."Are we almost there", "When do we get to go to.....", "When can I have......" "How can we possibly" and on and on and on.

After the kids have asked me and asked me and asked me and I have answered... "Soon", "Almost", "I've got it all planned out"... and they keep asking! I want to shout, "Sit Down and Shut UP I am working it out. I know the plan. I know just WHEN we will be there, just when it will all take place, how the whole thing will go down." They just don't SEE the whole picture yet.

How often is it like that with the Lord? We ask and ask and ask for things and we try to trust Him, but we struggle. We can't see the whole picture. We don't see how HE can possibly work it out for us.

The Israelites, as they fled Egypt, struggled with the same thing. Even after the Lord had inflicted the 10 plagues on Egypt ~ the locusts, the water turning into blood, the frogs (that one would have really gotten to me, I am not a fan of frogs) and even killing the first born sons of the Egyptians, the Israelites still began to fear again. Grumbling, whining, begging, pleading...Here was the big huge Red Sea in front of them, and the Egyptians were rapidly on their heels. How were they going to get out of this mess? Didn't matter that they had just witnessed their release from slavery. They couldn't figure out how to get out of THIS mess.

In Exodus 14:14 it says: "The Lord will fight for you; you need only to be still". The Israelites had forgotten that THEY hadn't done anything to get there in the first place, but it was the Lord fighting for them that had saved them. They just had to be still. STILL!!! I looked up what the word STILL means in this passage and in its most literal form it means to "Sit down and shut-up" or in a bit nicer way.."be mute and silent".

I know I struggle with asking and asking AND ASKING for things to happen, for the Lord to move on our behalf or fretting and stressing about the same things over and over again. I don't trust God and I don't trust His plan. Even when He has proven Himself faithful to me over and over again, I still grumble, complain and whine when I don't see how He is going to work on my behalf THIS TIME. I see that HUGE body of water before me, and can't imagine how I am going to get to the other side. I am sure God is saying. "I will fight for you, Kim. You need only to be still!"

How incredible and awesome that we have such a loving God who wants to fight for us and IS fighting for us. We just need to sit down and shut-up and LET HIM!!!!!

The unbelievable life-changing POWER of words

I haven't posted on my blog in such a long time....but have been feeling a stirring to pick it back up again. I am happiest when I write, so writing I will do.

I have been thinking a lot about words lately. How our words can bring life or death. Life or death to relationships. As children we were told. "Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me." What a lie!!!! Words can destroy a person and destroy a relationship! Think about it, many relationships and friendships that die, die due to words...gossip, unkindness, anger, half-truths and lies. All words...all destructive.

Confession time: We have been really struggling with Jack and his behavior at school and home. He has been getting in trouble, angry, not paying attention, not doing his school work. It has been upmost on my mind and has been the source of many many tears of late. It has consumed almost all of my waking thoughts and it never far from me. As a mother, I want my son to be loved and cherished as much as I love him, and it pains me so when he isn't. My reaction, in the times when he gets in trouble, has been with many harsh words, criticism, and, ashamedly at times, belittling. I have let me emotions totally get the best of me and in those times when I haven't controlled my emotions OR my tongue have said things that I am so ashamed of. And as I continued to criticize, his behavior continued to go more and more down hill.

It got so bad that very recently we were considering whether or not to take him to the doctor to be put on ADHD medicine. (he still has an appointment next week with the doctor, just to let you know how RECENT this all really is). In the last month we have put him on sorts of diet restrictions, pumping him full of caffeine, and a myriad of other things to see if it had any effect on his behavior at school and home.

As I began to pray and seek wise counsel from some who opinions I really value, the Lord began to convict me about the part I was playing in all of this. Somewhere, somehow the Lord spoke to me through the many words by those I hold most dear, and I was convicted by my words and actions. So prayerfully, I began to only speak positive, kind words to Jack. I chose to ignore those times when he wasn't doing EXACTLY as I told him to do. Praised him for even the smallest of good choices he made. When he "moved his clip" at school for talking out, I chose to ignore it (not my normal M.O.) and encourage him to keep trying hard and praised him for the other parts of the day when he didn't talk out of turn (even if that was just one teeny small part of the day). And most of all, I began to speak life to him. Telling him and praying over him the goodness and promises of the Lord. I began to call forth the qualities in him that I see that aren't often at the surface, just beneath it. Those that I want him to know he has that will bring such glory to the Kingdom of God. For the last week and a half we have called forth the heart of David that Jack has that truly seeks after the Lord and loves the Lord with all he has. We have called forth and praised the truly kind and generous spirit that is so a part of who Jack is.

Over the last week and a half we have seen many changes in Jack (that to this mother's heart seems miraculous). He was so incredibly angry, having outbursts of anger and tantrums with me, defiant and mean-spirited. Complete lack of focus and lack of desire to do his best. Jack is now smiling constantly, his angry outbursts have completely gone, he is listening and obeying quickly when asked to do things and is being kind and loving to his sister. He is singing praise songs constantly and instigates talking about the Bible and the things he is learning there. Oh, and his teachers have noted that in he is has been having a "Great Day" every day for the last week and has been focused on his work and doing his best. I shouldn't be amazed, the Bible is very clear on the power our words hold, but I just wasn't paying any attention.

Proverbs 10:19
When words are many, sin is not absent, but he who holds his tongue is wise.

Proverbs 15:1-2
A soft answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger.
The tongue of the wise uses knowledge rightly, but the mouth of fools pours forth foolishness.

Is it hard to control my tongue? You betcha. When I tell Jack to do something and he doesn't do it immediately, I really have to control myself. I have to take that extra minute and CALMLY ask Jack to come to me and then CALMLY tell him what I want him to do...and amazingly he does it for the most part.

What I am finding is that it is cyclical. Someone speaks unkindly to me or about me or my class frustrates me during the day, or the money is tight or something in the house breaks and without regard or thought, I take that out on my children (and James). I am having to take control my emotions, frustrations and hurt and not allow that to carry over to my family. It is only through much prayer and the Lord's help that I can do that at all.

Proverbs 12:18
Reckless words pierce like a sword, but the tongue of the wise brings healing.

Proverbs 10:24
Pleasant words are like a honeycomb, sweetness to the soul and health to the bones.

Proverbs 12:25
An anxious heart weighs a man (woman) down, but a kind word cheers him up.

I am really working on speaking life and not death through my words. I have such a long way to go.

Jack will continue to be Jack, full of energy and imagination and joy. Everything that GOD put in him and prayerfully, I will be a source of encouragement for him and speak LIFE to him not anger or frustration.